Iceland and Greenland

Should one book their own tours or should one use Oceania's tours? I haven't been able to find too much information other than whale watching tours for both countries.

Thanks.

Not many, if any, private options in Greenland - best to go with the ship IMO.

There are opportunities in Iceland to DIY - maybe check the POC forum (and your roll call).

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=97740404

We rented a car overnight from a small company in Reykjavik. They dropped of the car at the dock for us and we left it there at the end of our trip at the appointed time. We checked on the schedule of ship tours and then did the opposite. We went to the geyser area the afternoon of the first day and to the Blue Lagoon early on the second day. Both places were practically empty and definitely not to be missed. Ship tourers complained at how crowded the Blue Lagoon was. I think there was more than one ship in town that day, which probably contributed to the chaos.

Also keep in mind that the ebb and flow of ice in the ports makes it likely that at least one of the smaller ports will be canceled. Don't pay in advance for private tours.

Mary

We were in Iceland on Insignia in June '06, so quite a while ago, but like Mary we rented two cars for 8 people and did our own thing. We, too, were careful to go in the opposite direction from the ship's tours.

Mura

As Paul said, there is little to do in Greenland so if there are ship tours to get out of "town" and they are of interest to you, I would book them as soon as you are able. You can do a walking tour of Qaqortoq on your own.

Lots of options for independent tours in Reykjavik. Whale watching and the Botanical gardens in Akureyri were good as was horseback riding on the Icelandic horse in Isafjordur.

Enjoy your cruise.

In Iceland, I would rent a car and do my own tour. It is easy to drive around there, and very scenic.

In Greenland, you have to do the ship tour pretty much as there is not much tourist infrastructure.

There are lots and lots of private tour operators for every port in Iceland, google and search roll calls. Names and spellings are difficult to remember but reviews are good for almost all of them. A high percentage of passengers went private.

We were to visit three ports in Greenland from the Nautica but heavy ice flows kept us out of Prince Christian sound. We were booked with Blue Ice Explorer, possibly out of Quqortoq, not sure of the spelling. Google Blue Ice Explorer. Tour operator was Jacky Simoud who refunded all of our prepayments when we couldn't get in. We were to have gone out on a vessel to see ice flows and glaciers. To miss the ports was very disappointing, to say the least.

They rerouted us to Nuuk on the west coast. We walked around this lovely little town on our own and searched for Internet. Some people booked a ship walking tour and a ship hiking tour. There was no time to investigate private options as the ship Internet was barely operational.

We were there in July 2016, booking a private car for 6 days of sightseeing.

We booked the car with Nordic Visitor. I can recommend them as they provided extensive maps, a GPS, and more.

What I would NEVER do again is drive around Iceland on my own as the roads are well paved, but narrow, with little in the way of paved shoulders or breakdown lanes. Traffic is not heavy but certainly includes trucks, tour buses galore, and occasionally sheep.

This from someone who thought the Blue Lagoon was a well designed tourist trap, vastly overpriced, and not convenient to anything but an ATM.

Fetchpeople,

We are exploring doing this next year and would be interested in any additional information you'd be willing to share. I realize it is off topic. So take out the spaces and insert the punctuation to contact me directly please... dfriia at aol dot com

Thanks, Debbie

We weren't on a cruise, but did a two night stop over in Iceland once on our way to Europe. I will echo the other recommendations to rent a car. The island is easy to navigate, with good roads overall although some will be gravel. My suggestions include: The Golden Circle, Gulfoss Waterfall, Geysir. We didn't make it to the Blue Lagoon, but others rave about it. Check out the Icelandic Horses too, they are majestic animals.

There are a lot of tour operators listed on Trip Advisor.

Reykjavik is also quite charming just to wander. I still have a wool sweater and cap I bought in Reykavik in 2002 - excellent quality.

Joe

Last summer (2016) we were on a cruise from Rotterdam to Boston and had stops in Greenland and Iceland. Not much in Greenland -- very tiny villages and very nice for walking around --no tour or car needed. Just your feet. In Iceland, we went for a whale watching tour in Akureyri (Ambassodor) which was pretty good and we did see many whales (fabulous pod of whales from the ship leaving St.John's Newfoundland was the best by far of whale watching ). We did overnight in Reykjavik. This allowed us to do a Gray Line tour called Delicious Golden Circle Food Tour. (Gray Line.com about $300 for 2 ). Wonderful tour -- basically Golden Circle but with variation of farm to table lunch at dairy farm that was wonderful including ice cream made on farm and wine from the region. We also had appetizers from the world's largest steam greenhouse tomato operation (so good and really interesting --not your father's tomato plants) ending with chocolates and deserts at a historic sod house that the family has lived in for 3or 4 generations. Again very interesting. Also saw the geysers and earth plates and Iceland scenery --this was a great tour -- highly recommended. Group of about 10 --not many from our ship but we were picked up at the dock. Have fun. A great place to visit in the summer -- too dark and cold for me most of the year.

We were there in July 2016, booking a private car for 6 days of sightseeing.

 

We booked the car with Nordic Visitor. I can recommend them as they provided extensive maps, a GPS, and more.

 

What I would NEVER do again is drive around Iceland on my own as the roads are well paved, but narrow, with little in the way of paved shoulders or breakdown lanes. Traffic is not heavy but certainly includes trucks, tour buses galore, and occasionally sheep.

 

This from someone who thought the Blue Lagoon was a well designed tourist trap, vastly overpriced, and not convenient to anything but an ATM.

Tell me about the Blue Lagoon. Is it true that you have to shower (without bathingsuit) in a large room with others and someone watching to be sure you cleaned yourself appropriately? ?

Tell me about the Blue Lagoon. Is it true that you have to shower (without bathingsuit) in a large room with others and someone watching to be sure you cleaned yourself appropriately? ?

sounds like they have private shower rooms

http://www.bluelagoon.com/plan-your-visit/changing-rooms/

I am sure my sister would not have gone in if she was being inspected :eek:

sounds like they have private shower rooms

 

http://www.bluelagoon.com/plan-your-visit/changing-rooms/

 

I am sure my sister would not have gone in if she was being inspected :eek:

Thank you!! Someone posted that they were watched as they showered and this concerned me! Thanks for posting the link!

Thank you!! Someone posted that they were watched as they showered and this concerned me! Thanks for posting the link!

I will check with my sister she is away this week but will see what she says about the experience

I will check with my sister she is away this week but will see what she says about the experience

Thank you! Did your sister go recently? I'm going this summer.

sounds like they have private shower rooms

The showers have curtains on them, but some people just leave them open. We went in and took a quick shower with our bathing suits on and the curtain shut. There aren't any "inspectors" there to watch! :')

I've been to Iceland and the Blue Lagoon 5 times and stayed at the Blue Lagoon hotel 3 times. It's a fabulous place and so relaxing. The hotel has it's own lagoon that is only for the guests so it's much quieter and with fewer people. Great food too. But, just like all of Iceland, it's pricey.

The showers have curtains on them, but some people just leave them open. We went in and took a quick shower with our bathing suits on and the curtain shut. There aren't any "inspectors" there to watch! :')

 

I've been to Iceland and the Blue Lagoon 5 times and stayed at the Blue Lagoon hotel 3 times. It's a fabulous place and so relaxing. The hotel has it's own lagoon that is only for the guests so it's much quieter and with fewer people. Great food too. But, just like all of Iceland, it's pricey.

Thank you! That's a relief! I was stressed about walking around without clothes and then showering with an audience!

Thank you! Did your sister go recently? I'm going this summer.

she went last June with a group tour

but I see Go-Bucks gave you an answer

Just walk around the towns in Greenland, unless you see a ship excursion that sounds really interesting to you. We hit three ports in Greenland (on Regent), Nuuk, Qaqatorq and Paamuit. We LOVED Greenland - just so gorgeous and unspoiled - but there is not much to do and very little internet. We really enjoyed exploring the towns on foot, climbing some of the overlooks and going into the local stores.

Michael

Tell me about the Blue Lagoon. Is it true that you have to shower (without bathingsuit) in a large room with others and someone watching to be sure you cleaned yourself appropriately? ?

I would book the VIP option - that's what we did and it completely made the experience fabulous. I would never use a shared facility and the lines to get in looked ridiculous. We paid a bit more, got a host to show us around, private facilities to change and shower, a spa room to relax and a private entrance into and out of the lagoon. I would not do Blue Lagoon with general admission.

Michael

We will be going on Insignia July 26 leaving from Reykjavik. Plane arrives at 6:45 AM. Can anyone recommend the best plan on what to do all morning and how to get to the cruise port? Oceania is of no help at all.

We will be going on Insignia July 26 leaving from Reykjavik. Plane arrives at 6:45 AM. Can anyone recommend the best plan on what to do all morning and how to get to the cruise port? Oceania is of no help at all.

Do you want to go straight to the port or do a tour?

There is the airport bus or tour that will stop off at the Blue Lagoon

Private island tours

check this site for options

https://grayline.is/tours/?device=c&campaignid=611656312&gclid=CKvCwoHYmNUCFUe5wAodkoELNw

If you are flying with Icelandair they also offer tours or transfers

There are many tour companies. We picked ours from trip adviser. I would definitely book my own excursion. It is sure to be more reasonably priced. Make sure to do a small group. You do not want to be on a bus in Iceland. The off road vehicles go on ice fields through rivers. It is an adventure you will not soon forget.

Can we leave our luggage at the ship at 9AM?